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Total daily physical activity, brain pathologies, and parkinsonism in older adults.

ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVE:We examined the association of physical activity, postmortem brain pathologies, and parkinsonism proximate to death in older adults. METHODS:We studied the brains of 447 older decedents participating in a clinical-autopsy cohort study. We deployed a wrist worn activity monitor to record total daily physical activity during everyday living in the community-setting. Parkinsonism was assessed with 26 items of a modified motor portion of Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS). We used linear regression models, controlling for age and sex, to examine the association of physical activity with parkinsonism with and without indices of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders (ADRD) pathologies. In separate models, we added interaction terms to examine if physical activity modified the associations of brain pathologies with parkinsonism. RESULTS:Mean age at death was 90.9 (SD, 6.2), mean severity of parkinsonism was 14.1 (SD, 9.2, Range 0-59.4), and 350 (77%) had evidence of more than one ADRD pathologies. Higher total daily physical activity was associated with less severe parkinsonism (Estimate, -0.315, S.E., 0.052, p<0.001). The association of more physical activity with less severe parkinsonism persisted after adding terms for ten brain pathologies (Estimate, -0.283, S.E., 0.052, p<0.001). The associations of brain pathologies with more severe parkinsonism did not vary with the level of physical activity. CONCLUSION:The association of higher physical activity with less severe parkinsonism may be independent of the presence of ADRD brain pathologies. Further work is needed to identify mechanisms through which physical activity may maintain motor function in older adults.

SUBMITTER: Oveisgharan S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7190120 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Total daily physical activity, brain pathologies, and parkinsonism in older adults.

Oveisgharan Shahram S Dawe Robert J RJ Leurgans Sue E SE Yu Lei L Schneider Julie A JA Bennett David A DA Buchman Aron S AS

PloS one 20200429 4

<h4>Objective</h4>We examined the association of physical activity, postmortem brain pathologies, and parkinsonism proximate to death in older adults.<h4>Methods</h4>We studied the brains of 447 older decedents participating in a clinical-autopsy cohort study. We deployed a wrist worn activity monitor to record total daily physical activity during everyday living in the community-setting. Parkinsonism was assessed with 26 items of a modified motor portion of Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Sc ...[more]

PMID: 32348372

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Project description:BackgroundAlthough the health benefits of physical activity are well documented, most older adults are not sufficiently active. There is a need to explore approaches to physical activity promotion amongst older adults that meet the personal preferences and needs of participants, and that can be implemented on a large scale in community-based settings. The current study evaluates Daily Moves, a community-based physical activity program for older adults living in Adelaide, Australia. METHODS: The Daily Moves program, which ran almost entirely during the COVID-19 pandemic, provided participants with personalized plans and information about suitable physical activity promoting activities available in their local area. This study used an explanatory sequential mixed-methods approach to evaluate associations between participation in the Daily Moves program and physical activity engagement, physical function and psychosocial wellbeing, and to explore the experiences of Daily Moves participants through qualitative interviews, with a particular focus on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on program participation and enjoyment.ResultsThe research evaluation included 69 older adults (mean age at baseline = 73.9 ± 5.6 years; 19 male). Following Daily Moves, participants reported an increase in self-report physical activity levels (mean increase = 1.8 days, p < 0.001), improvements on several measures of physical function (left grip strength (mean increase = 1.8 kg, p < 0.001); right grip strength (mean increase = 1.3 kg, p = 0.03); Timed Up and Go (mean decrease = 1.3 s, p < 0.001)), and no significant changes in measures of psychosocial wellbeing. Qualitative interviews revealed that participants valued the supportive and flexible nature of Daily Moves, and that they felt connected with staff and other participants despite the onset of the pandemic.ConclusionsThis evaluation demonstrates that physical activity programs embedded within the community can provide flexible and tailored recommendations to participants, and that this approach can promote positive change in important indicators of health in older adults.

Dataset Information

Total daily physical activity, brain pathologies, and parkinsonism in older adults.

Publications

Total daily physical activity, brain pathologies, and parkinsonism in older adults.

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